DHAL with RADISH GREENS MALLUNG, TOMATO + ONION SALAD & LIME PICKLE on BURGHUL
[leftovers for lunch today ~ even better than last night. Save for the mallung, which was amaaazing freshly made]
DHAL
--onion fried with the usual spices [bay & curry leaves, mustard seeds, garam masala, turmeric, cardamon, cumin, coriander]
--stir in a cup or so of lentils + garlic & chilli + pepper
--two veg... i had cauliflower & zucchini
--bit of stock then water
--cook til melted together nicely
--season along the way with splashes of mirin + tamari
MALLUNG
he.marli's recipe from the 'pickings' comment OR with a bare pantry i got away with:
--oil flavoured/fried with a whole garlic clove (fine chopped onion is better)
-- add fine sliced radish greenery (or anything else green, or cabbage)
--fry together with a few tablespoons dessicated coconut, turmeric, dried chilli, big pinch of salt & lemon juice to moisten.
--done when greens are cooked... not long
TOMATO & ONION
--fine sliced onion + tomato + juice of a lemon + a little oil + S & P
--mix it with your hands
eaten on coarsish BURGHUL cooked absorption method with a little stock ~pearl barley is even nicer. Both lighter than rice.
with my favourite head-clearing LIME PICKLE ~ Fern's is the best!
mallung meal
chickpea soba noodles
who knew chickpeas and buckwheat noodles would go so well together!
onions
garlic
carrots
mushrooms
spinach
mirin
water
vegetable broth/ stock
chickpeas
soba noodles
white miso paste
to be added in that order roughly.
1 2 3 GO
WHITE RICE/PAN FRIED MUSHROOMS with LEMON THYME/CUCUMBER, SNOW PEA and AVOCADO SALAD/PERSIAN KALE/CHICKPEAS with HARISSA and PUMPKIN/OVEN ROASTED TOMATOES and BASIL/ROASTED POTATOES
last week renee and i decided to make a meal together. we shoppped separately but then cooked in the kitchen together, consulting each other but not really with any grand plans. like those rare times when you have a potluck (rarely lucky) and everyone by some collecitve consciounsce brings just the right amount of each course and the flavours seem to sing together (more or less), we syncopated. the meal evolved effortlessly and flavoursomly.
WHITE RICE
a japanese friend of mine taught me how to cook rice, slightly more involved than most methods but worth every grain filled morsel
meth
++ rinse thoroughly 2cups of white rice (i like short grain) until it runs clear (the white suff that runs out is apparently talc...)
++ soak for 20-30mins, then drain
++ bring 2cups of water to a boil in a pot with a well fitted lid and add the rice placing the lid back on
++ bring back to the boil, then immediately turn flame down to lowest possible flutter and place a flame tamer under your pot if you have one (really useful for dispersing the heat evenly on low flames)
++ cook for 20mins (without ever removing lid) then bring flame up to full again for 20 seconds (slighlty toasting the bottom layer of the rice) then remove from heat
++ leave for 5 more minutes then remove lid and fluff rice up to release the steam
quick snack options with freshly cooked rice (white or brown)
++ toasted seeds (pumpkin/sunflower/sesame) + umeboshi + flaxseed oil (stoney creek farm is my favourite) + dulse flakes or fresh parsley
late night pickings
Even a bolting, forgotten garden is a blessing in busy times...
Prize radish + rocket-cos-mizuna.
Interested in tips on how to use the radish greenery? So lush & folic.
Ceramic cuts
Rory brought back this ceramic knife from Japan. The blade is made of zirconium oxide which the Kyocera website tells me is second in hardness to diamonds. The knife is really light but has a good central balance, it cuts exceptionally, and although the handle is ugly slate toned plastic it is entirely ergonomic and comfortable. The range is also produced with a black blade, but the white is super attractive - slightly iridescent with the calcareous quality of a cuttlefish bone.
Schweetums
This is what's classified in Norway as something light to finish off a meal (of mutton ribs, mashed swede and boiled potatoes):
A slab of cream thickened with lime juice. Garnish.
BTW, Sonsa's on Smith Street have the most amazing pomegranates at the moment.
Drunken ostentatious dessert at bourgie rooftop expat bar in Kuala Lumpur:
And the best kind of dessert, or breakfast for that matter - Matthew's aunt's mulberry tree:
